ASA applauds the recent Senate letter dated August 23, 2010, to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging a review of Medicare payments for anesthesia services as potentially undervalued or misvalued. In total, 16 U.S. Senators signed the letter.

ASA is grateful to its members for bringing this issue to the attention of the U.S. Senate and is pleased to have strong support from these 16 Senators.

For years anesthesiology has suffered from a Medicare payment disparity. Recent analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as confirmed by ASA’s own survey data, indicates that Medicare rates are 33 percent of what commercial insurers pay for the same service. Meanwhile, most other physician specialties receive at least 80 percent of commercial rates from Medicare. This significant gap warrants further examination and continued action.